Dryers: Many germs in the air (published on NDR – Germany on Monday November 14)

Dryers: Many germs in the air (published on NDR – Germany on Monday November 14)

Dryers: Many germs in the air

By Daniel Krull
Dryers with air nozzles are suspected of swirling germs and bacteria in the room air. In a sample, market has had the load checked in five heavily frequented toilets from a lab. There were significantly more germs in the room air, where electric dryers were installed. Rooms with paper towels were much less stressed.

Studies support the results of this sample
The sample of market does not claim to be a scientific study. The results are supported by studies under laboratory conditions. TÜV Rheinland confirms that the result can hardly be different from those measured.

Paper towels more hygienic than air blowers
Many people keep their hands just under running water and do not use soap. Even those who wash their hands according to the recommendations of the Robert-Koch-Institut for hand hygiene, in general do not get totally germ-free hands.
In the air stream of electric hand-held dryers, germs, bacteria and loose skin cells are blown into the ambient air.
The effect is particularly relevant with high-speed ( “jetstreams”) engines, that generate an airflow of more than 600 kilometers per hour.

Dyson, the market leader in the field of jet air dryers, points to a built-in HEPA filter that filters bacteria out of the room air before the air stream hits the hands. But according to TUV, the filter brings but little, because not the aspirated room air, but the germs on the hands represent the problem.

More hygienic are paper towels, which are used to rub of pathogens during the drying process. For this reason, only paper towels and no electric dryers may be used in German hospitals. In gastronomy there are no such regulations. …. (follows)

See also the results of a similar survey run by Candid Camera – Action News program of ABC6 in USA in the post: “Dirty little secrets”

See also the study run by Eurofins-Inlab in Germany in 2012: hand drying equipment in 150 public washroom where tested for microbes. The study reached the same conclusion: washrooms where Paper Towels are used have much less microbes on the surfaces than those where Jet Air Dryers are used. See the Eurofins Study.